Written in the Stars
by BubblesHeartfilia
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia is a famous singer, model, and actor. Her world is turned upside down when fate causes her life to become entangled with a certain fire demon. Modern Day AU. NaLu
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Since the beginning of time, vile creatures have inhabited the Earth. Vampires, ghouls, zombies, demons and even werewolves were just a small sample of all the evil in the world. These supernatural beings preyed on the human population. For a long time, their mass murders were left unchecked, and many people died. Then, thousands of years ago, a woman decided to fight back against the forces of darkness. She was a powerful mage and a brilliant tactician. She acquired soldiers, some human, some supernatural, and waged war against these creatures. This group became known as Fairy Tail. They protected the world from calamity from the shadows. Over time, they were able to drive many of these creatures back, some even into extinction. For the most part, the human race was safe once more. Since they were no longer needed, the Fairy Tail guild became smaller and smaller, with now only a few hundred elite members left in the modern era.

Then, a few hundred years ago, things took a turn for the worst once more. An ancient dark mage began uniting the forces of darkness once more. He had the power to resurrect the dead and create elite demon creatures known as Etherious. The mage went by the name of Zeref and the rumors were that he was thousands of years old. His motives for attempting to bathe the world in darkness were unclear.

It took years for Fairy Tail to gain enough reliable info to begin tracking him down. Once they had figured out his location, the formed a small and elite group of mages to try to stop his onslaught of terror. These mages were:

Gray Fullbuster, an ice demon that ironically wielded demon slaying magic. His mentor and mother figure had been tragically killed by one of Zeref's demons. He joined Fairy Tail to try to get revenge and prevent the same tragedy from happening to others.

Layla Heartfilia, a wealthy aristocrat and celestial mage. Although Layla was a mere human, she used an ancient and powerful magic. She was able to call forth spirits to fight by her side. She also had the power to open and close gates between dimensions.

Erza Scarlet, an Amazon powerful enough to be hailed as her race's queen. She had the ability to change armor and weapons at will. She was one of the most powerful members of Fairy Tail.

And finally, the most interesting member of all, Natsu Dragneel. He had initially been created by Zeref to serve as his right hand man and as a General to his demonic armies. However, upon hearing the dark mage's plans on awakening him, the Fairy Tail guild acted quickly to intercept the action. They were able to steal his tome, also known as The Book of E.N.D., from Zeref. Once they had the book within their hands, they were able to use its magic to bind E.N.D.'s loyalties to them instead. The blow had been major to Zeref, and they thought with Natsu they would have real chance of ending Zeref's existence. Natsu grew into a man that devoted his life to finding and killing the dark mage.

For hundreds of years, Natsu and the Fairy Tail guild had searched for Zeref. Today was the day that their fruitless efforts would finally be rewarded.

* * *

Natsu's feet pounded roughly on the dirt as he sprinted towards his destination. His comrades, Layla, Grey, and Erza, were tight on his heels.

"Natsu, you idiot… wait up!" Grey sputtered, slightly out of breath. The ice wizard had long held a distaste for his demonic rival. If he were being completely honest, he didn't full trust the Etherious.

"Natsu! We cannot charge into this without a plan! Zeref is the most powerful wizard known to this world. We cannot afford any reckless action at this point!" Erza yelled authoritatively.

Layla nodded. "She's right, Natsu! We should think this through. We can't afford to lose anyone."

"Shut up!" Natsu snarled, increasing his pace. After hundreds of years of chasing this bastard, he was finally going to be able to face the darkest wizard himself. As E.N.D., Natsu was raised to have a powerful desire to wipe his creator from the face of the planet. None of his teammates' words would reach him anymore. His goal was about to be realized.

Natsu redirected his fire magic to his feet and took off even faster, leaving behind his comrades in the dust.

They might have been part of his team, but he didn't need them anymore. They would only get in his way. His teammates were too soft and hesitant. They wouldn't do what needed to be done.

Zeref had caused so many to suffer. He was merciless and had slaughtered thousands. There was no reason he should be left alive to share the oxygen with the rest of the world's population.

Natsu's feet eventually carried him to a large clearing in the forest. Zeref's scent was suddenly overwhelming and powerful. He had to be close…

Natsu's heart quickened with excitement and bloodlust when he finally saw the dark mage. Even after living such a long life by human standards, Natsu had never actually laid eyes on Zeref.

The dark Emperor had dark hair and dull emotionless eyes. He wore a dark robe with a white sash draped along his middle. His expression was bored and lifeless.

Almost immediately, Natsu was filled with an anger that he couldn't explain. He wanted to…. No, _needed_ to end Zeref's existence. But before Natsu could begin summoning fire to his fists, Zeref spoke.

"Etherious Natsu Dragneel, I was wondering when we would finally meet. It's been quite a few centuries since your awakening, has it not?" His voice was as monotone and deadpan as his face.

Natsu could only snarl, white-hot anger filling every fiber of his soul.

"While it is true that I initially created you to serve as my partner, I have since then changed my mind. Your loyalties obviously lie elsewhere. Keeping you around would only cause me inconvenience."

Natsu was about to show him just how much of an inconvenience he could be when Zeref reached into his robe to retrieve something. When he pulled the object out, Natsu felt his eyes widen in shock.

It was his tome, the book of E.N.D.

"Where the hell did you get that?!" Natsu snarled, quickly igniting his whole body and charging towards his creator. As he swung to deliver a blow, Zeref disappeared, calmly reappearing behind him. "Coward!"

Zeref smiled. "I don't consider my actions to be cowardice. I consider them to be smart. After all, I simply want to preserve my life." He outstretched his arm, clutching the book and began pouring his magic into it.

Natsu was immediately brought to his knees. It felt like a gigantic hand was wrapped around his body, squeezing him and crushing every bone in his body. He tried to breathe but only created bubbles in his throat as blood began to pour from his mouth.

"Well, E.N.D, it's been fun." Zeref tossed the book, and Natsu felt every impact as it skipped across the ground. He collapsed onto the ground, his eyes wide in shock.

"Now die." Zeref raised a hand, and a pillar of dark magic formed, rocketing down from the sky.

Was it really going to end here? Natsu closed his eyes, feeling utterly pathetic. He couldn't protect his friends. He couldn't even carry out his only reason for existing. He hadn't even been able to land one attack on Zeref and their "fight" had lasted mere minutes.

How could he claim to be Zeref's most powerful creation if he couldn't even scratch the dark wizard? It wasn't like he had been goofing off during his time on Earth. No, he had trained daily and worked hard alongside his guild mates. This wasn't how it was supposed to end...

"I'm sorry…" Natsu choked out to no one in particular.

At least after a few hundreds years of fighting, he would finally have peace.

"No! Natsu!"

Natsu could briefly make out the sound of Layla's voice. Why was she here?

Layla's pained scream suddenly filled the air and Natsu's eyes flew open. How was he still alive?

"Layla!"

"Layla! No!"

The smell of human blood filled his senses as Natsu realized what happened.

There, crouched over the book of E.N.D, was Layla. She had used her body to shield the book from destruction and in turn took all the damage herself. The pillar had completely blown open her abdomen and blood pooled around her as she coughed.

"Well, that's rather inconvenient. I'm not sure why my pet is so important to you, but you only delayed the inevitable." Zeref rubbed his chin thoughtfully before raising his hand to gather another attack.

"Oh no you don't!" Erza yelled, requipping into her Black Wing Armor. She launched an attack on Zeref causing him to stop his spell momentarily.

"Layla! Stay with us!" Grey yelled.

Layla shushed him, her breath coming out in broken gasps. "Do not worry about me… I won't last much longer and you guys… cannot… cannot defeat Zeref."

"Stop talking like that, save your strength." The ice wizard barked.

Across the clearing, Zeref had already taken the upper hand against Erza. He used his magic to toss her effortlessly into a large boulder. Erza's armor cracked and peeled off.

Layla turned away from Gray, slowly retrieving a key that he had never seen before. Every movement looked extremely painful for her but she was determined to complete one final act before dying.

Light began to surround Zeref as a gate opened beneath him. He barely had time to register any sort of shock before being sucked into it.

"What the?! No… what are you doing?" He yelled in desperation.

The gate snapped closed, leaving a stunned group of Fairy Tail wizards behind.

"Layla! What the hell did you do!" Gray growled, as he worriedly watched the last bit of life energy begin to drain from his friend.

The second Zeref disappeared; Natsu felt the crushing feeling lifted off of his shoulders. He quickly pushed himself to his feet and ran towards where Zeref had been. He glanced around, bewildered. What the hell had happened?

"Natsu…"

Natsu's sensitive hearing could pick up Layla's pained voice and he wheeled around to face her. Erza and Gray were already huddled around their fallen comrade. He quickly walked towards her and knelt down beside her. There was no way she would recover from this, not even Porlyusica or Wendy could save her now. She had simply lost too much blood. But why had she sacrificed herself to save him? The thought had him bewildered. As far as he knew, Layla and him hated each other.

Years ago, when Layla had requested to join their guild, Natsu had vehemently opposed it. Humans had no place in their guild. Fairy Tail was at war against a vile enemy. In his opinion, humans were weak and useless.

If this human had been hiding the power to seal Zeref away, why did she sacrifice herself to save him? There was absolutely no benefit for her to sacrifice herself for him.

"You stupid girl. Why the hell did you do that? You have a family and I am a demon… didn't you think that through before stupidly sacrificing yourself for me?!" He growled.

"Natsu!" Grey snapped, fighting the urge to slug the angry demon across the face.

"Natsu that's enough." Erza added softly, cradling Layla's head on her lap. A lone tear rolled down the red-haired woman's cheek.

But Layla shocked them all by lifting her ring of celestial keys and holding them out towards Natsu. "Natsu, when this is all over, and the world is finally at peace, please give these to Lucy…. She will be an amazing mage but… I don't want her getting involved in this war."

Whatever anger Natsu felt crumbled when he thought of Layla's family. She had a young daughter at home, and though he never met her, Layla often spoke highly of her.

It was simply not fair. Natsu didn't even have anyone and Layla had given her life to save him. Now the Heartfilia family would be torn apart.

He shakily reached forward, grabbing the keys from her. Why had she entrusted him with this task? He was the least friendly member of Fairy Tail and Layla and him certainly didn't get along. It made more sense for her to pass the keys to Gray or Erza. He frowned, his thoughts clouded with confusion. Regardless of how he felt, this was Layla's dying wish, and even if he hated her, he was willing to carry it out.

"You have my word." He muttered softly, putting the keys into his pocket.

With the keys successfully passed on, Layla closed her eyes and breathed her last.


	2. Chapter 1 - Obligations

**Disclaimer: In this chapter I don't own Justin Bieber, Fairy Tail, Supernatual, Dean and Sam (sigh!), Toyota Camry, Punk'd, and Ashton Kutcher.**

 **Chapter 1: Obligations**

Over a decade had passed since Layla's untimely death. Fairy Tail hadn't forgotten their fallen comrade. Shortly after she passed, the guild erected a memorial in her honor. They spoke of her often, praising her as the hero of all of Earthland. Layla had given her life to save the world.

After Zeref had passed through Layla's gate, he was never heard from again. With their leader gone, his followers fell into disarray. Eventually, after a few small wars here and there, they were almost completely irradiated. Peace had finally come to the magical world.

Natsu Dragneel was never the same after Layla's death. It wasn't like he was stricken with grief or anything. No, in fact, he hardly had any feelings for the woman at all. He was just troubled over the fact that she died to save him. He didn't want any other person to ever die for him again. He was a demon after all, and didn't deserve any pity from humans. So over the years he distanced himself from Fairy Tail.

Natsu kept himself busy in that time. He did solo missions and monster hunting for Fairy Tail. He only did enough missions to earn money to feed himself and pay his rent. As the years passed, his solitude and loneliness made him bitter. He didn't dare speak to anyone aside from Erza and Gray. The two of them weren't fragile and he knew they wouldn't get in his way.

Erza Scarlet was an Amazon, the queen of all Amazons to be exact. She was insanely powerful and deadly. She had the power to change her armor and weapons in the blink of an eye.

Gray Fullbuster was a frost demon. Ironically the polar opposite of the element Natsu controlled. Although the idiot was insanely annoying, Natsu couldn't deny his reliability when it came to fighting.

The three of them had once been on a team with Layla but since her death the group evaporated. Natsu simply had way too much on his mind to worry about fostering a friendship with the two remaining members.

None of them understood why Layla had given her keys to Natsu. It was well known that Natsu and Layla didn't care for each other. The celestial mage had been much closer to Erza and Gray.

It made way more sense for Layla to pass the keys onto Erza but when Natsu tried to pawn the task off to her, she had vehemently refused. Erza then lectured her pink-haired comrade on the importance of duty and promises, much to his annoyance. And so, for a decade and a half, Natsu lived on, never forgetting his promise to Layla.

Along with Layla's keys, Natsu had also inherited The Book of E.N.D. The tome held details to his entire existence. It contained powerful binding spells and information on what exactly the Etherious were. Ultimately, he learned from the book that Zeref was still alive. Natsu was bound to his master so if Zeref died, he would perish alongside him.

The fact that Zeref was still alive gave Natsu a reason to live. He wanted revenge for everything Zeref had done and he would not rest until he had it. For the past fifteen years, Natsu had searched around the world with no luck. It was becoming more and more likely that perhaps Layla's gate had transported Zeref to a completely different dimension. Even so, Natsu would not stop searching until he destroyed his master.

Natsu had used guild resources to locate her. Lucy Heartfilia was a twenty-three year old model, actress and singer. She had followed her mother's footsteps into fame and was known worldwide. From what Natsu could tell, she had a kind soul and wanted to live without the extravagance of wealthy life. She donated most of her money to charity and eventually decided to move into an apartment. The luxury complex was called Hargeon Village and was located in Magnolia.

This was convenient for Natsu. Magnolia also happened to be the headquarters of his guild, Fairy Tail. Because of this, he knew his way around the city quite well. He would be able to get his task accomplished quickly and painlessly. And, if Natsu had done his research correctly, today was actually the day she was due to move into her new apartment. This was good new for him, he really didn't feel like dealing with Jude or any of the Heartfilia staff.

Natsu had settled onto a curb outside of her apartment and waited patiently for her arrival. The sun was warm and the humidity made the air unpleasant and sticky. He sighed, dreading the interaction with the human girl Lucy. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the leather-bound case that contained the keys. He flipped it open and studied them. They glistened brightly in the sunlight. Although Natsu didn't have the best sense of cleanliness, he took very good care of Layla's keys. He wanted them to be as nice as possible for Lucy to receive them.

He wondered idly if this Lucy girl would understand the value of the celestial keys she would soon be gifted. Did she know what celestial keys were? Would she understand the power they could grant their user?

Natsu had no intention of explaining anything to her if she didn't. For all he cared she could keep them as a reminder of her deceased mother. It wasn't his responsibility to teach her anything. His task was simply to give her the keys and nothing more. Besides, it was unlikely that the girl even believed in the existence of magic.

Natsu's ears twitched as he recognized the sound of a car approaching. His eyes flew open and he watched as a black Toyota Camry pulled into the complex.

He knew from his research of Lucy Heartfilia that this was the type of vehicle she drove. Natsu pushed himself to his feet and began to approach, sticking the keys back into his pocket.

The black vehicle parked and Natsu noticed Lucy bore a striking resemblance to her mother as she emerged from her vehicle. He had heard rumors that she looked very similar to her mother.

Lucy walked to the back of the vehicle and opened up the door. She began shuffling through her belongings while muttering to herself.

Natsu found Lucy to be very weird. She was definitely the complete opposite in personality as Layla. Layla had been quiet and refined. Lucy was downright bizarre.

Lucy finally located what she was looking for. She approached the front door of her apartment and stuck her key into the door. As she pushed it open, the wonderful smell of pine and cleanliness filled Natsu's nose.

Natsu took a deep breath, deciding to approach her once she emerged from the apartment. He had no intention of startling her, and following her into her new place might qualify as creepy.

He didn't have to wait long; soon she emerged again and hastily shoved her apartment key into her pocket. She left the door cracked so she could carry her items in with ease. She popped the trunk of her car and turned, her back facing towards Natsu. She hadn't noticed him approach yet.

"Excuse me, Miss?" Natsu tapped on her shoulder gently.

Lucy jumped at the sound of his voice. She let a squeak out before wheeling around to lay eyes on the person who had scared her. She momentarily forgot the big heavy box in her hands and it began to tumble forward. "Oh…!"

Natsu's quick reflexes allowed him to catch the box with ease. He then peered around the box to give her an amused glare.

"I'm so sorry! Thank you so much for catching that." She leaned forward and grabbed the box from his grip. "Not going to lie, you scared me. I didn't even hear you walk up."

Natsu stepped forward, intending to cut right to the chase. He reached into his pocket to grab Layla's celestial keys. "Actually I—"

The sudden ringing of Lucy's cell phone cut him off and she quickly shot him an apologetic look. She shoved the box back into his hands. "Sorry about that… let me silence my phone and…" She glanced down at who was calling. "Oh! Sorry! I have to take this. I'll only be a moment." Lucy held up a finger as if to reinforce that she would only take a single moment. She turned away from him and began to walk away.

Natsu fought the urge to roll his eyes in irritation. How the hell had he ended up holding this box for her? Did she just expect him to be her personal box holder? She didn't even know him. Hell, he could have been some sort of thief and run off with her things. It was ridiculous she would even expect him to be okay with this.

Rich brats were a real pain and she was certainly no exception.

He sighed, and just decided to wait patiently. His sensitive hearing unintentionally began to pick up on the conversation she was having.

' _Sorry babe. Something came up and I can't make it anymore. The boys are wantin' to go out tonight. I can't miss something like that. You understand, right?'_

Natsu could hear the man on the other side of the phone dripping with pompous douche. It was almost nauseating.

"I mean… I guess…" Lucy sighed into the phone. "I was really counting on you though…"

' _Oh for the love of… God Lucy, you're so damn needy. You tryin' to get in between my friendship with the boys? We'll move you in tomorrow. Stop freaking out, seriously. Just go stay with your dad one more day.'_

"But…" Lucy started but the line had already gone dead. "How can I move my stuff without you?!" She finished, growling to herself. She tucked her phone back into her purse and began walking back towards her car. She locked eyes with Natsu as she approached.

"Sorry about that, thanks for holding my stuff." Lucy reached towards him and plucked the box from his arms.

She looked irritated. Even if her face wore a smile, Natsu knew it was not genuine.

Natsu mentally sighed, the old familiar pangs of guilt surfacing in his chest. Maybe if Layla were still around, Lucy would have had some help moving her belongings. Instead she seemed to be dating some deadbeat moron who cared more about getting drunk than helping her out. Maybe some of that was Natsu's fault. If Layla were around, she might have taught Lucy some self-respect.

He really, really hated himself right now. All he wanted to do was drop the damn keys off and be free of this annoying task.

But he sort of did owe Layla something. She had given her life for his. Helping her daughter move shouldn't be that big of a deal, right?

He stepped forward, glancing around the box again. He forced a fake smile onto his face before speaking. "Actually, I do live around here. My afternoon is free, need any help with your stuff?"

 _Shit._

That nauseating feeling returned to his stomach. He wanted to vomit from the absurdity of his words even as they left his mouth.

Perhaps he was being a bit dramatic though, he owed Layla this much. This was a simple task and it wasn't like he was going to be able to get anything work-related done today anyways.

The genuine smile that brightened her features melted any regret he once felt. Maybe he really was going soft. She took a deep breath, set the box down on her trunk, and threw her arms around him in an excited hug.

Natsu stiffened under the touch, not understanding what the heck the girl was doing. Why the hell was she hugging him?

Lucy pulled away from the hug and took a few steps back. "Oh thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me. I'm Lucy, by the way!" She held a hand out in front of her.

"I'm Natsu. It's a pleasure to meet you." He grabbed her hand and shook it.

Lucy almost pulled her hand away in shock when she realized just how hot his hand was. It wasn't enough to burn her but it was certainly uncomfortable. It felt like he had a ridiculously high fever. But this Natsu fellow didn't seem sick to her. He seemed relatively healthy and normal. Maybe he just had an unusually high body temperature? Strangely, his body temperature wasn't the only thing Lucy noticed as unusual. His overall appearance was definitely out there. He was tan and attractive but he had pink hair that messily spiked out into all different directions. His pupils were thinner and almost animalistic. Also, when he had spoken earlier she noticed he had huge canines.

If she didn't know any better, Lucy thought he definitely looked a bit inhuman. And it gave her the creeps.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she mentally scolded herself. She had certainly been watching way too much Supernatural. While Dean and Sam were nice to look at, their television series was starting to distort her grasp on reality. To add to that, she had always been very paranoid and wary around strangers. This was probably just part of that. When you grew up as rich as she did, you learned to trust practically no one.

Lucy watched him retrieve a box from the back seat of her car. He picked up the box with ease, his tan muscles barely twitching under the weight. Natsu certainly didn't seem suspicious. He seemed genuinely focused on helping her instead of chatting her up or stealing her things.

"Is this really all of your stuff? You don't seem to have a lot of things." Natsu mused out loud, breaking Lucy from her thoughts.

Lucy frowned, "Unfortunately, that's not all of it." She pointed to the large moving truck beside her. "Most of my stuff is in here. It arrived separate from me this morning."

Natsu glanced over to where she was pointing and narrowed his eyes in irritation.

There goes his afternoon.

Did she bring everything she ever owned? It was a bit ridiculous that one person could fill an entire moving truck on their own.

She jogged ahead of him and pushed the door open. When Natsu entered, he studied the apartment around him and noted that it was quite humble for someone of her stature. It had a simple kitchen, a small living area, a single bathroom and one bedroom. The floor was hardwood and their footsteps echoed as they walked across it.

"I've labeled all the boxes according to where I'd like them." She tapped on the side of the box and Natsu glanced down where she was pointing.

 **'LIVING ROOM'** The box read in black sharpie. The handwriting was neat and very feminine.

He set the box down against the wall so it would be out of the way while they were walking in and out of the space. Lucy was already walking out of the apartment to grab another load so Natsu followed her out.

They eventually finished moving the stuff from her car and moved onto the truck.

"I'm seriously so glad you're here. I have no idea how I would have been able to do this on my own."

He nodded and studied the contents of the truck.

How could one person own so much stuff?

It would have been impossible for her to move all of this on her own. What the heck had she been thinking?

He hadn't known Lucy very long but she didn't seem to use a lot of logic when making her decisions. She seemed to weigh all of her decisions on emotions. She probably had figured out she wouldn't be able to move all of this stuff on her own but she was too stubborn to admit defeat and ask her father for help. Also, he knew from his research that she was quite wealthy and successful. Why had she not hired a moving company to help out with this?

She really was lucky he was here. Otherwise she would have been screwed.

"You're a man of few words, aren't you Natsu?"

"Sorry." He muttered quietly. It wasn't that he was a man of few words. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn't had this much conversation with a human in years. It was making him more than a bit uncomfortable. Especially since he was the reason this human's mother was dead.

Slowly but surely they made progress on moving her stuff inside. They didn't speak much besides Lucy giving the occasional direction on where she would like each box.

* * *

Hours passed and eventually the two of them were able to bring the last couch inside and set it down in the appropriate place in the living room. Lucy plopped down tiredly on the couch before patting the spot next to her to signal Natsu to do the same.

He reluctantly complied, feeling a little unsure about spending any more time than necessary with Lucy.

"So Natsu, where do you live?" She asked, trying to make conversation. She stood up from the couch and headed towards the fridge. She retrieved a couple of cold, bottled waters.

"The apartment above yours, actually." He lied smoothly. Based off of the smell and lack of noises coming from the apartment above, Natsu deduced there was no one actually living in the apartment above. It was doubtful he would get caught in his lie since no one would be entering or exiting the space above to expose him.

"And have you lived here long?"

"Nope, I actually just moved in." He shrugged, leaning his back in the couch to get more comfortable.

"Hm…" Lucy eyed him suspiciously before ultimately deciding to take Natsu's answers at face value rather than question everything he said. Lucy held out the bottle of water in front of him and he gratefully took it from her.

Natsu wasn't sure why he was making up such an elaborate lie. His only real obligation was to get her the keys and get out of there. He could sense her uneasiness around him though and he thought maybe this would make her more comfortable…

….Or he was digging himself into a hole. Social interaction wasn't exactly something he was good at. Now if he gave her the keys it would seem awkward and weird, probably borderline creepy.

' _Oh hey Lucy, I know I said I'm your neighbor and all. But I actually lied. I knew your mom and she wanted me to give this to you. What are these keys? Not sure. Have fun.'_

He mentally sighed, closing his eyes. Natsu unscrewed the cap off of his water and took large, greedy gulps. He should just get it over with.

He returned the cap to his bottle and set it down on the coffee table. Afterwards he reached into his pocket once more and let his hand close around the keys.

"Actually, the real reason that I…"

The sudden blasting of what Natsu could only assume to be the latest Justin Bieber hit…. Not that he knew anything about Justin Bieber… interrupted him. Lucy's phone was ringing again.

"I'm sorry, Natsu… I know I'm being rude but I have to take this." She untangled her long legs from her crisscross sitting position on the couch and stood up.

Natsu sighed again. He stuck his hands on the back of his head and adjusted his position so he was sprawled out on the couch. His spiky pink hair poked at his fingertips. He knew he shouldn't eavesdrop but he couldn't help himself. It seemed like Captain Douche had called Lucy back. Was it an unspoken agreement for rich girls to date morons? Natsu wondered.

His ultra sensitive hearing picked up the slurred words of the moron. He was being very degrading towards Lucy and she just seemed to take it. Natsu picked up words coming from his mouth such as bitch and whore.

He didn't know Lucy but he didn't understand why she would be taking this from this douche. She was Lucy Heartfilia and could have any man she wanted based off her looks alone. Throw in the fact that she was a Heartfilia and there wasn't a single man alive that wouldn't want to make her their queen. He also knew she had thousands, maybe even millions of adoring fans.

And yet, she let this pig talk to her like she was a piece of garbage. It was very annoying.

Although Natsu had no sort of desire to ever have a girlfriend or get married, his father, Igneel, had taught him to treat women with respect. Being E.N.D., he had no concept of what love was. But Igneel explained to him that it was a powerful human emotion that had the power to complete or shatter a person's existence.

He had never experienced the feeling himself and he was confident he never would. It wasn't in his programming to understand such a complicated human emotion. What he emotions he did grasp were passion, anger, desire, guilt, and hatred. And this guy was really irritating him.

After much back and forth, Lucy finally hung up the phone and returned to the living room.

"Natsu… your feet. Off. My. Couch."

The venom in her voice at that moment rivaled Erza's. It was quite sobering. Almost enough to make him forget about Captain Douche… almost.

"Gees…" She rubbed her temples and smiled. "Were you raised in a barn?"

Nope, not raised in a barn. Just by a dragon.

Natsu popped his knuckles absent-mindedly. He wasn't sure how much more of this girl's harping he could take. He had already had his fill of the human girl. Somehow this stupid simple task of giving Lucy her mother's last gift had turned into a four hour long adventure and he still hadn't given her the keys. The task was so simple a child could have fulfilled the request in under five minutes.

But no, he had to have a stupid guilty conscious.

Zeref hadn't blessed him with a wide range of emotions. It wasn't apparent to him why guilt had made the cut. Guilt was about as useful a screen door on a submarine.

"Gees, you really don't talk much at all. No offense, but talking to you is kind of like talking to a brick wall." Lucy teased.

 _'Gee, thanks.'_ Natsu thought with annoyance.

Lucy walked over and wrapped her fingers around his wrist to pull him to his feet. He gave her a puzzled look, unsure of what she was trying to do.

"Natsu, I think I owe you a meal for all the help you've given me today."

"Hm?" He tilted his head in confusion.

Lucy laughed. "Come on! Let's go get some pizza. There's a great pizza joint just down the street. It's walking distance so we don't have to drive."

Natsu was about to decline her offer when his stomach growled loudly.

Food sounded really good right now.

"I know you're polite but I won't take no for an answer. It is customary to buy the people who help you move pizza, am I right?"

Pizza…

The thought was making him drool.

"Well if you insist… I won't turn you down." He said, letting her tug him towards the door. He was especially glad that this place was walking distance. He only got into vehicles when absolutely necessary and mostly walked places. It wasn't a big deal to him to walk places, even across cities. Being a demon had its benefits and he was able to travel quite quickly using his powers.

The sun had just begun to dip down on the horizon and the air outside was beginning to cool off. Not that Natsu particularly minded the summer heat, being a fire demon and all. The one thing he couldn't stand was the humidity. Humidity was surely a creation of the evil mage Zeref.

Sometime during their walk, Lucy had hooked an arm around Natsu's muscular one. His arm was lying limply at his side while her hand was wrapped loosely on his forearm.

The way she was hanging on him so friendly and carefree had him feeling like a neutered puppy rather than E.N.D. He was so glad Gray couldn't see him right now. If Gray ever saw Natsu being led around excitedly like a dog, he would never hear the end of the teasing. Hell, even Erza might even take a crack at him for how ridiculous he looked at the present moment.

Because of who she was, Lucy appeared to Natsu to be too trusting and friendly. It was dangerous for her to just invite a stranger into her apartment and then drag him out to dinner. He could have been some type of murderer. Or some crazed and rabid fan.

He internally cringed at the irony that he was in fact, a murderer. As a fairy tail mage, he had killed many creatures. As a demon, he had slaughtered hundreds of Zeref's followers. If only Lucy knew how many people he had killed. Maybe she would think twice before latching onto him in such a friendly and carefree manner.

The delicious smell of pizza suddenly filled his senses and he felt his stomach pang in anticipation. He could see a neon sign up ahead flashing in brilliant pink and green colors. _'Love and Lucky's Pizza Joint'_ was what it was called.

As they approached, he couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy about this place. It definitely appeared to be some hole in the wall.

With Natsu still in tow, Lucy fearlessly approached the hostess stand.

"Table for Miss Lucy Heartfilia and her boyfriend?" The hostess winked at them. Natsu had to keep his nose from wrinkling at the hostess' scent. She smelled like she spent more time chain-smoking cigarettes than doing any actual work.

"We're not a couple." Lucy corrected, glancing over towards Natsu's face. "Just new friends! Can we sit on the patio?"

The hostess nodded and grabbed a couple of menus and rolls of silverware. She led them out back towards a patio and set them down on the table.

"Someone should be here shortly to take your order. Enjoy your meal!" She bowed before spinning on her heel and walking away.

Natsu and Lucy separated and sat across from each other. She quickly went to work reading over the menu while Natsu studied the place carefully. It certainly smelled delicious, but its appearance was a bit sketchy at best.

As if reading his mind, Lucy reassured him. "This place might look a bit rundown but I've heard it's actually quite good. When my parents were young they used to come here all the time. I've always wanted to try it."

' _Layla…'_ Natsu thought, suddenly feeling the weight of her keys in his pocket. There was no better time than the present. It was time.

"Natsu…" Lucy started, interrupting his thoughts. "I can tell by how normal you're treating me that you don't know who I am. Not that I'm complaining, I really appreciate feeling normal for once."

Ah, more irony for the night. He knew exactly who she was and a lot of intimate details of her life thanks to his research on her. He just didn't care.

"I'm Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia." She bit her lip, waiting for him to react. When he didn't, she kept talking. "That guy who keeps calling… is my fiancé. I'm in an arranged marriage. It's a political marriage, of course. My dad is trying to form a partnership with Bora's families' business. I don't have a choice in the matter." She rubbed her temples. "Like I said, I know we just met. But I don't want your first impression of me to be that I'm some depressed girl that doesn't have any bit of self-worth. I don't want to marry Bora, in fact, I hate him. And yes, I know you overhead him speaking to me on the phone. I saw your look of disapproval when I came back to the room."

Natsu frowned. "Sorry." He said simply before glancing back down towards his menu. He felt a bit uncomfortable that she had confided in him.

Jude Heartfilia… what a fucked up individual making Lucy marry Bora.

Layla was a quiet and soft-spoken woman but if she knew her daughter was about to marry such a douchebag… well, she would probably sick all of her celestial spirits on Jude for even suggesting such an absurdity.

"Do you know what you want yet?" Lucy's cheerful voice brought him out of his thoughts.

He set his menu down and closed it firmly. "I do. And I think you should let me pay for the meal."

Natsu was so socially clueless that he hadn't thought what he might be implying with that statement. It was only after she blushed that he realized he said something weird.

"Natsu, this is my treat. Don't worry about buying my dinner."

"I eat a lot. It would be rude for me to expect you to pay for me."

Lucy shook her head. "Nonsense, you can't eat that much. Don't worry about it."

He shrugged and thought to himself, 'your wallet's funeral, then.'

Their waiter picked this opportunity to make an appearance. "Good evening sir and Madame, my name is James and I'll be taking care of you two tonight. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

"I'll take a water." Natsu answered.

"Ditto." Lucy added. "Also, I think we're actually ready to order. Do you mind if we go ahead and place our food order?"

"I don't mind at all!" James smiled. "What would you like, Madame?"

"I'll take a small cheese pizza and a side salad with a light vinaigrette."

The waiter nodded, turning his attention to Natsu. "And for you, sir?"

Natsu took a deep breath before ordering. "I'll take one large supreme pizza with extra toppings of everything. I would also like an additional large meat lover's pizza with stuffed crust. Oh, and an order of breadsticks."

The waiter was having a hard time not dropping his pen in shock. "S-sir... you realize one large pizza is enough to feed a family of five, right?"

Natsu shrugged. "Then I guess I'll have leftovers." He reasoned with the waiter. Although, he knew he wouldn't have any leftovers. He easily could have ordered a lot more but he didn't want to completely break Lucy's bank since she insisted on paying.

The waiter nodded, still looking a bit unsure. He scooped up their menus and walked away.

Across the table, Lucy was giving him a look of utter shock. "Wow…" She finally managed. "You weren't kidding."

"Now can you see why I insisted on paying?"

Lucy smirked, regaining her composure a bit. "I'll believe it when I see it. There's no way in hell you'll even be able to eat a third of that. It's seriously no big deal though. You saved my butt today so I don't mind paying for your next six meals."

Next six meals? He almost scoffed at that. Clearly she had never seen how much a starving demon could put away.

"And, if you do eat like that," She added. "There's no way you would be able to maintain that lean muscle on your body."

Natsu glanced town on his body in wonder. He had never thought about it like that, he didn't necessarily go out of his way to work on his physique, but he did know that Zeref had created him to be the ultimate weapon. It probably wasn't even possible for him to gain fat if he tried. He glanced back at Lucy where she was still giving him an amused look.

"What about you? Are you trying to starve yourself over there? You barely ordered anything and I don't have enough to share any of mine."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Oh please, a small pizza is more than enough to feed two people. I don't even plan on eating more than one slice. I have a shoot tomorrow, you know."

Natsu glanced towards the door to inside and as if on queue the waiter returned with a couple of glasses of water. He sat them down on the table with a couple of straws and then disappeared again. Natsu opted not to use his straw entirely and instead took large gulps of the water. He set his glass back down and leveled a confused look on her. "Shoot?"

Lucy was busy plucking the wrapper off her straw and had completely forgotten what they were talking about. It took her a moment to respond. "I'm a fashion model and I have a photography shoot tomorrow."

Oh yeah. Natsu had forgotten she was a model. It seemed she really was doing a lot of the things her mother had been famous for. He wouldn't be surprised if she was even writing her own novel right now.

"What about you, Natsu?" Lucy asked, placing the straw in her glass.

His eyes drifted upwards as he thought about it. What did he do exactly? His job was definitely unusual. He worked for a magic guild and killed monsters. That wasn't exactly something he could just tell anyone though.

"No offense, but you're kind of weird. What are you so deep in thought about?" She arched an eyebrow at him.

Natsu shrugged. "I do pest control."

" _Pest control_?" The blonde almost spit out her water in surprise. Natsu certainly didn't seem the type. She pictured someone into pest control as some overweight, unshaven bald guy that smell strongly of death chemicals. "I really hope you don't take this the wrong way, but how can you afford to live at Hargeon Village as an _exterminator_?"

Natsu scratched his head. Oops, the Exceed was out of the bag now. He took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself. Maybe since they still haven't received their food she wouldn't try to bail if things got awkward or weird.

"Lucy, the truth is that I don't live at Hargeon Village. In fact, I knew exactly who you are and I specifically sought you out today."

This time Lucy actually did spit out her water. "W-w-what?" She stood up shakily, suddenly very creeped out. Who the hell was this guy? She thought she was making a friend but instead she was being lied to and led on. What did he want from her? Was he going to kidnap her and hold her ransom? Was he trying to get her to date him?

Natsu calmly gestured for her to sit back down. "I am sorry I lied but it seemed necessary at the time. Please sit back down and hear me out."

Lucy bit her lip and glanced around, taking note of the exits if things got weird. She reluctantly returned to her seat.

"My full name is Natsu Dragneel. I used to know your mother, Layla."

 _'Natsu… Dragneel? Dragneel… why did that name seem so familiar… Wait… he knew my mom?!_ ' She leaned forward, suddenly very interested in what he had to say. If he was a friend of her mother he surely couldn't be a bad person, could he? "You knew my mother?"

He nodded. "Yes, in fact we worked together."

Lucy squeezed her eyes shut in disbelief. There's no way this guy, who couldn't be a day older than her, knew her mother. It was all some sort of cruel joke.

Was she on an episode of Punk'd? Was Ashton Kutcher about to jump out from behind a table?

Natsu couldn't have worked with her mother. That would make him at least thirty to forty years old.

She shakily slammed her fist onto the table and Natsu was glad they were alone on the patio. He hadn't expected her to act so… upset.

Why the heck was she upset?

"You shouldn't joke about people's dead loved ones. You didn't know my mother." She sighed, suddenly losing the anger she had held just seconds ago. "Please, let's just not talk about her any longer. I know it's been fifteen years but I still miss her everyday."

"I'm sorry I upset you but ultimately I'm just here to fulfill one of Layla's final wishes."

"Final… wishes?" Lucy mouthed, still debating on whether or not she should bolt to the door and end this weird nightmare she shared with Natsu.

He wasted no time reaching into his right pocket and retrieving a leather container of some sort. He set it gently on the table and scooted it towards her.

Lucy could tell that whatever it was, it was ancient. It was brown with a fancy flourish in gold foil. There were other symbols on the front in perhaps some kind of ancient writing.

She shakily reached a hang out towards the container and wrapped her fingers around it.

"Layla asked me to give that to you when the time was right." Natsu added, leaning back into his chair.

Her fingers slowly traced the markings on the outside before curiosity got the best of her. She undid the latch and opened the case.

In front of her lie six brilliant keys. They were polished and obviously well taken care of. Half of the keys were small and silver-colored. The other half were large and golden. Each key had it's own unique shape and markings.

Lucy knew immediately what these were. She wondered if Natsu knew what he had been carrying around all these years. The keys were priceless artifacts, probably easily worth millions of dollars. Their value wasn't attributed alone to the fact they were made from pure gold and silver. No, these were magic keys. They had the power to open a gate from the living and spirit world.

Her fingers shakily moved forward to brush the cool handle of one of the keys. Upon contact, she felt something wonderful shoot through her body. It was electric and powerful.

"Natsu…. Where the hell did you get these?"

Lucy had no intention of explaining what these keys were to Natsu. No one in the world even believed in the existence of magic anymore. To Natsu, these were probably just some random, fancy keys.

"I told you that already, Layla gave them to me." Natsu watched in amusement from his place across the table. His sensitive hearing could pick up on her heart repeatedly slamming against her rib cage. Perhaps Lucy did know what they were after all.

Lucy quickly covered the keys back up and hastily stuffed them into her purse. She didn't want to run the risk of anyone seeing them and trying to take them from her. Her heart was racing as she imagined that her mother had once held these keys and used them. Now they were Lucy's to own and they meant the world to her. Tears began to build in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away.

"You alright, Lucy?" Natsu asked, crossing his arms and leaning towards her.

"I'm fine." She sniffled. "It's just… thank you, Natsu. If only you knew what this means to me."

The genuine smile on her face was even warming Natsu's cold heart. He was very glad he had taken such good care of her keys over the years. He had fulfilled his promise to Layla. Perhaps now she could rest in peace and the guilt he felt would ease off of him a bit.

Inside of her head, Lucy's thoughts were running a mile a minute. She had always been so fascinated with magic and often dreamt of becoming a mage like her mother. Magic was so rare and unheard of in the modern era that if you truly believed in it you would be committed into an insane asylum before you even knew what was happening.

Lucy knew better though. Magic was real and had the power to change the world.

She tried to remember how to even use the keys. Was it some sort of phrase or saying that activated them? How would she even figure it out? It wasn't like she could just ask anyone. Perhaps there was a book she could find that could help her out.

Natsu was enjoying watching the mixture of emotions cross her features. She would go from sadness, shock, and wonder, to giddiness in a matter of minutes. It was actually pretty hilarious to watch.

After awhile of staring, he felt that he was probably being rude and decided to pass the silence by checking his phone. Lucy was too involved with her thoughts to notice if he checked his messages.

Natsu was trying to get into the habit of checking his phone frequently. He didn't like to leave it on ring or even vibrate because when it would go off it would rattle his senses in a painful and unpleasant way. Instead, he resorted to just checking the annoying device every once in awhile to make sure he didn't have any important messages from Erza or Gray. Sure enough, he had a message from Erza. He tapped his phone screen and brought up the message.

 _'Were you able to give Lucy the keys?'_

He sighed, tucking the phone back into his pocket. He would message her later and give her an update on everything. He was most definitely going to leave out the part where he helped Lucy move and then went to dinner with her. His teammates would probably tease him relentlessly if he ever admitted to that.

"I hope you guys are hungry!"

The sudden voice of their waiter as he emerged from the building caught Natsu off guard. Natsu's nose twitched as the delightful smell of golden crust, tomato sauce and gooey cheese filled his senses. He felt his mouth watering a bit as it came closer and closer.

The smell of the pizza seemed to also bring Lucy out of whatever daze she was in. Their waiter set down the cheese and supreme pizza before returning to the building to grab their final pie and breadsticks.

Momentarily forgetting all of his table manners, Natsu quickly began scooping pizza directly off the pan into his mouth.

"Natsu!" Lucy tried to quickly warn him. "Be careful! That pizza is way too hot to just dig right into…!" The words died in her mouth as she realized it was way too late. Poor guy probably just burnt the living hell out of his mouth.

If he had though, he didn't seem fazed at all. He kept shoveling piece after piece into his mouth without a care in the world. Natsu went through half of his first pizza before the waiter had even set down his second.

He was not kidding when he said he ate a lot. Lucy idly wondered if he had even ordered enough. She glanced down at her own plate where she had yet to even take a single bite out of her first slice. She couldn't even think about eating right now when all she wanted to do was begin her research on the keys as soon as possible. She decided to just ask the waiter for a Togo box for her salad and pizza. She would eat later when her appetite returned. She didn't have to wait long on the waiter, he frequently was returning to the table to refill Natsu's water (who seemed to down a glass every two minutes). Eventually the waiter had given up on trying to keep Natsu's glass full and left two full pitchers at the table.

Lucy was definitely going to have to leave a huge tip for their waiter's troubles.

Once Lucy had successfully boxed her food and Natsu had finished his, she paid their check.

Natsu only just seemed to notice that she hadn't touched any of her food. "You alright?" He asked, patting his tummy satisfyingly. Not that he necessary cared how she was feeling. He just wanted to give the illusion that he did.

"I'm fine… I just lost my appetite the moment I saw you start shoveling food into your face like your mouth was some kind of bottomless pit." She stuck her tongue out as if to emphasize her point. She didn't want him to know she was too anxious about her mother's gift to even think about eating.

He shrugged, standing up and stretching.

He was so close to being done with his favor for Layla that he could taste the freedom. He was eager to start experiencing life guilt-free. Now he could focus all of his energy on slaying Zeref.

Lucy and Natsu exited the restaurant and ended up back on the street. Their walk was quiet at first, both of them lost in their respective thoughts.

"So, where will you go now?" Lucy broke the silence. She hated to admit that she was a bit sad to see him go. She didn't know anyone in town and she had thought she had made a friend. She still wasn't sure what she thought about Natsu. He was quiet and mysterious. He rarely responded to anything she said the entire day. Maybe it was a good thing he was leaving. He wasn't exactly friendship material.

"Back home." He said simply, resting his hands on the back of his head as he walked.

"Where is that?" She asked, giving him a sideways glance.

"It's not far from here."

Lucy resisted the urge to grind her teeth together. He really didn't seem to have any interest in revealing anything personal to her. It was very frustrating. All she longed to do was ask him about her mother. She knew that wouldn't get her very far. Instead she settled herself into silence.

Natsu walked her all the way up to her apartment door. She turned towards him and gave a polite bow. "Thank you, Natsu."

Natsu nodded in response, opting not to say anything.

Lucy watched as he turned and calmly walked into the night. If she didn't know better, she could have swore his body seemed to fade into the darkness. She quickly rubbed her eyes; the excitement of the night must be getting to her. All she could really think about right now was running inside, grabbing her laptop, and spending hours researching the keys and how to activate them.

It had been so long ago that her mother had used them. Lucy couldn't even begin to remember what words she used to activate the spells. How does one even pour their own magic into the spells to activate them? She knew speaking the words simply wasn't enough.

Lucy collapsed onto the couch and quickly retrieved the keys from her purse. She opened up the leather container and brushed her fingers across the keys once more.

She was suddenly filled with the feeling that something was off and she didn't feel like it was the keys causing her to feel this way.

She wasn't alone.

Lucy glanced around frantically but didn't see anyone immediately.

"Natsu…?" She asked quietly, hoping that it was just him and he had forgotten something.

Her heart leapt from her chest when she suddenly felt powerful arms around her body. A large and calloused hand quickly covered her mouth so she couldn't scream and Lucy felt the cold metal of a gun barrel on her throat.

"Well well well… If it isn't Lucy Heartfilia." He tapped the gun against her throat. "I bet your dad would pay a pretty penny to guarantee your safety."

* * *

 _A/N: Annnnnd that's Chapter 1! Let me know if you guys enjoyed it and if I need to continue on._


	3. Chapter 2 - The Rescue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. I just enjoy writing stories about the characters**

 **Chapter 2: The Rescue**

Natsu had hoped that the presence he felt in Lucy's apartment was just his imagination. However, when she opened her door, and the all the scents from inside rushed out, he knew it wasn't. He made the decision not to go bursting in, fists blazing. Perhaps Lucy knew the person inside with her.

He knew that was unlikely though, she had only just moved in today. There wasn't really a chance of that she could have given a spare key to anyone yet.

Natsu took a deep breath and let his body dissipate once more into the shadows. He made his way up towards the apartment and placed an ear on the wall outside. The apartment walls were mostly sound proof but his sensitive hearing was able to make out conversation.

"… _I bet your dad would pay a pretty penny to guarantee your safety."_

Natsu snarled in annoyance. Of course this would happen. He thought once he dropped the keys off with Lucy he would finally be free of Layla and his annoying guilt. He wasn't required to do anything further than he already had but if even one little hair on Lucy's head were harmed he would feel guilty as hell.

He made his way towards the window, silently thanking the stars above that she lived on the first floor. He peered inside and took in the sight before him. A disgusting, middle-aged and bulky man had his arms around her small frame. He had a pistol pressed into her throat so hard it was probably hard for her to breath.

Natsu rubbed his temple in annoyance. If he jumped right in, he couldn't guarantee her safety. Although he was confident in his speed, he wasn't sure he was faster than a bullet if this moron's finger were to slip.

"Bruce here." The moron in question answered his cell phone, not removing the gun from Lucy's throat. "Yeah, I have her. Bring the car around quickly, I don't want anyone to see us as we make our getaway."

Only seconds seemed to pass and Natsu hear the unmistakable sound of a car approaching. It backed up through the grass and right up to her front door.

Bruce and Lucy suddenly emerged. Lucy's mouth was gagged and he had the gun now pressed into her lower back. A shot there might paralyze her for life. It was still too risky for Natsu to make any sort of rescue attempt.

As quickly as the van appeared, it took off again, tires squealing as it exited the apartment. Natsu was fast but he couldn't keep up with the speeding vehicle. He would have to rely on his powerful senses to lead him to her. He closed his eyes and focused on the scent of the vehicle quickly escaping. He could smell the pungent odor of Bruce's body odor, the slight smell of burnt rubber, and the smell of cigarette ash. He zeroed in on those scents and took off on foot. Being a demon had its benefits. He was able to blend into the darkness of the night and his speed was able to keep him within a certain range of the vehicle. This allowed him to still pick up on their disgusting scents. He dashed over sidewalks, scaled buildings and cut through parks.

He followed the vehicle of the city and into the country. The vehicle had left the pavement and passed over a few winding gravel roads. At this point he was probably about twenty minutes behind the vehicle.

The scent led him to a very old and dusty building. It was an old manufacturing plant and had long since been abandoned. The gang had taken it over to operate out of and Natsu could tell by the gross odor that they manufactured some type of drug here.

He carefully made his way around the building, taking in all the details of it. There were guards posted at each entrance and security cameras everywhere. This definitely wasn't an ordinary group of people. The cartels were dangerous and smart individuals. They had access to all sorts of weapons and even had managed to buy out the local police department.

The fact that this gang was a cartel had Natsu troubled. Cartel gangs typically already had a lot of money. It seemed very risky to abduct a high profile person such as a Heartfilia. Cartels generally did everything they could to keep out of the spotlight. Something seemed very fishy about this whole situation.

This was definitely going to be troublesome. There was going to be blood shed, that fact was unavoidable. Natsu was already very annoyed after having to deal with Lucy all evening, now he had a group of money obsessed morons to deal with. He was going to make them pay for wasting his time.

Natsu decided to enter through an entrance to the south side. It seemed to be the least guarded and the cameras around it could be dealt with. He began patting the ground around him until he located a fist-sided rock. Natsu was really banking on the hope that these guards were as stupid as they looked.

The fire demon started by removing the cameras facing the south entrance. He focused the heat of his flame magic on the cameras. The fizzled and popped as they began to fail, drawing the attention of the guards. Now that they were distracted, Natsu drew his arm back, tossing the rock with full force along the ground. He picked just the perfect angle so the rock would skid along the ground and make a lot of noise. It bounced loudly behind them before ending up in the surrounding forest.

The guards seemed to take the bait, quickly chasing the sound into the forest.

Natsu didn't waste any time. He quickly entered the building. Luckily for him the doors were completely unlocked. He quietly began working his way through the hallways, following the sweet smell of Lucy's scent. It was a breathe of fresh air compared to the disgusting smells of all the thugs around her.

He had only made his way around to bends in the hallways before an alarm started to sound. It was an annoying ringing and reminded Natsu of a fire alarm. The gang must have repurposed the old warehouse's previous fire system and made it into a functioning security system. He would have to be really careful now. Bruce was probably now on high alert and Natsu knew it was likely he still had the gun shoved mercilessly into her throat.

The building was old and dirty and the layout didn't seem to make any sense. He was very glad for his powerful sense of smell that guided him down the hallways otherwise he probably wouldn't have been able to find her.

Bruce and Lucy were close, but judging by their scents they were in completely separate rooms. Natsu found this to be quite strange considering the circumstances. Surely they would be doing everything in their power to protect their hostage. Eventually Natsu came to a large and heavy metal door. Inside, he could hear Bruce speaking to someone on his cell phone.

"Yeah, I got her. We've been roughing her up a bit as you instructed… yes, the alarms are going off but I'm sure it's not anything the guards can't handle." Bruce was pacing anxiously back and forth. "We are doing everything in our power to terrify her. We will make sure she will want to return home after this."

Natsu couldn't make out the words on the other end of the phone but the whole situation was starting to feel very fishy. Why would they want Lucy to return home after this?

"Yes, of course boss. You have our word as long as you plan to pay as you promised."

Things were definitely becoming intriguing. Natsu decided after he beat the man senseless he would try to figure out who was on the other end of the phone. Why would a drug boss care that Lucy lived on her own? There were so many details that didn't seem to make a lot of sense.

Natsu heard footsteps approaching the door and he quickly dashed around a corner and out of sight. Bruce's heavy footsteps made a thumping noise as he headed back to where he held his captive.

Natsu didn't waste any further time. He dove forward, and dropped to the ground, sweeping a foot under the thug's body. The force was enough to crack the shins of Bruce and he cried out in pain. His gun and phone both flew from his fingers, skidding across the floor before coming to a stop right in front of the angry demon. He raised his foot up, smashing it down onto the gun as hard as he could. Bits of metal and bullets flew everywhere.

Natsu's eyes glowed a demonic amber as he leaned over and gently placed his fingers on Bruce's chin. A deep growl rumbled in his throat.

"Who the fuck… What are you?" The larger man cried in shock and fear.

The demon bared his fangs in clear irritation. He reached forward and worked his fingers into the larger man's shirt collar. He effortlessly hoisted his body up from the ground until his face was eye level with Natsu's own. It was an incredible feat considering their vast difference in size. He pulled his fist back and struck him, barely holding back. The force shattered his jaw and threw the man twisting backwards.

Bruce yelped in pain, clutching his face in sheer panic. Natsu decided he had punished the larger man enough and calmly stepped over his quivering body. Natsu took a few steps and picked up Bruce's phone. He slipped it into his pocket so he could study it later.

He could smell Lucy in the room beyond this one. As he approached the door separating them, Natsu took a deep breath. He focused on calming himself down so he didn't scare Lucy with his obvious blood lust.

The door wasn't locked and opened for him easily. There, in the middle of the room, sat Lucy Heartfilia. She was slumped over in a chair, her hands tied behind her back. She was badly bruised and wounds covered her body. Natsu was overwhelmed by the smell of her blood. She didn't seem to notice him as he approached.

Natsu reached out a hand and gently shook her shoulder. She whimpered quietly in response.

"No more please…" Her voice was quiet and scratchy.

Natsu was amazed that the gang of thugs had been able to beat her up so badly in just a short amount of time. He walked around behind her to examine her binds. She was bound with a pair of metal handcuffs. He leaned over and plucked a bobby pin from her hair and began to pick at the lock. After only a few seconds they came undone and he pulled them from her bruised wrists.

"Natsu…?" Lucy seemed to finally notice who her savior was. The question seemed to take the last of her strength and she finally succumbed to darkness.

Natsu sighed, leaning forward and scooping her up into his arms as gently as possible. He held her tightly against his chest, close enough that her face was buried in his throat. Her soft breath tickled his neck.

The challenge was now removing both of them from the building. Getting in had been easy, as he was able to freely dissipate into the shadows as needed. Now he had Lucy in tow and wouldn't be able to use his normal demonic abilities. And, if they ran into trouble, he would have a hard time fighting with his hands full. He supposed he could resort to kicking if needed, but he didn't want to jar her body too much based off of her condition. He wasn't sure the extent of her injuries and it was likely she had a few broken bones. There was only one way to ensure their escape.

Outside the room, he could still hear the alarm blaring loudly. There were shouts as guards began to close in on the room. It was now or never.

He adjusted her weight in his arms one last time before leaning forward and kicking the door open with his foot. A group was already was already waiting for them outside, automatic weapons pointed at them. Natsu could see the plethora of red lasers dotting their bodies, daring them to try to take a step further.

"Drop the girl!" One of the larger guards hollered.

Natsu wasn't in the mood to take any orders from an overweight thug. He took a deep breath, gathering his fire magic towards his mouth and released. A powerful surge of fire erupted into the hallway. In response to the intense heat, the sprinkler system immediately kicked on.

"What the hell…!?"

"Get out of here! This old building won't last!"

The guards panicked shouts echoed around them. Their attention was no longer on the two enemies, but now focused on a desperate attempt to survive. Smoke started to fill the room making visibility practically zero. The fire grew larger and Natsu had to resist the urge to just sit down and bask in the heat. This was his element and it was delightful for him. Lucy wouldn't be able to take the heat for much longer though so he needed to escape. He pulled her closer to his body to protect her from the flames and took off once more. He navigated his way back through the building, following the exact path he had used when he came in. Eventually they arrived outside. Luckily for the duo, no one was waiting for them as they made their escape. He carried her into the woods and up a surrounding hill before turning around to look behind them.

Most of the gang had managed to escape. The fire had just started to consume the rest of the building. It was an older building so Natsu didn't see it lasting more than half an hour tops in his flames.

The darkness inside of him was enjoying watching them suffer. He had wanted to kill all of them, and paint the hallways with their blood. They all disgusted him. They were cowards, hiding behind their guns and then capturing and hurting Lucy.

The gang's motives were still unclear but Natsu had lived long enough to realize just how unimportant money was. The fools who gave their lives to its worship didn't deserve the time of day. He turned his attention back towards the road ahead and took off in a quick run again. He was very careful not to make any sudden jerking movements as to not irritate her injuries further.

The journey back to Lucy's apartment had been a pain. He tried to keep to the shadows but toting around her body had made things more than difficult. He didn't want any witnesses thinking he had knocked out some poor girl and kidnapped her so he had to be extra careful not to be seen. Eventually, after a couple of close calls, he arrived back at her apartment. The door was still unlocked to Natsu's relief.

Natsu made his way into her bedroom and used his shoulder to flip on the light as he walked by. He gently laid her unconscious body on the bed and tried to get a good look at the extent of her injuries. He growled in irritation when he realized that some of the injuries were bad enough that they required stitches.

Natsu ran a hand through his hair, contemplating his next course of action. It would probably be best if he just dropped her off at a hospital and let them deal with her injuries. This wasn't really his problem and he had no intention to waste any more time here. On the other hand, however, he knew the gang would recover and most likely want to retaliate based on the state he had left their base. It might be unwise to turn her loose and into the hands of an ill prepared hospital staff.

He eventually decided to at least check to see if she had anything he could use to clean her wounds. He would start basic first aid so her wounds didn't fester. It was troublesome, but humans were weak little creatures. They could easily die from infection if left untreated.

Natsu headed into her bathroom and began digging through boxes trying to locate anything he could use. Unfortunately for him, Lucy hadn't had time to unpack anything yet. There wasn't any rhyme or reason for the way things were organized either. Towels, nail polish, cotton swabs, hair products…. Nothing he could use.

He growled, shoving the most recent box aside. There was only one box left to check. He all but tore the last box open and began rummaging through the contents. Near the bottom he found what he was looking for: a container with bold bright lettering, proudly proclaiming "First Aid Kit".

Of course it would be in the last place he checked.

He pulled it out and noted that it was a pretty good size and weight. There was a good chance he would at least be able to find some bandages and antiseptic.

Natsu walked back into the bedroom and laid the kit down next to her body. He pulled it open and began rummaging through its contents. To his surprise, there was a lot of stuff within the kit. He was even able to find a needle and some sutures. At least that took care of the stitches issue. He actually knew how to stitch someone up thanks to a guild mate Wendy.

Natsu returned to the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth from one of the boxes. He also found some simple hand soap, it wasn't ideal but it would have to do. He wet the cloth and soaked it in warm water before wringing it out a decent amount. He then used the dispenser to put a few tiny pumps of soap on the towel. Natsu approached her body again and began gentle circular motions along her body to clean any caked on dirt and blood. He avoided getting too close to any of the open wounds. The harsh hand soap would dry them out and hinder any healing.

He finished cleaning her and set the bloody towel down on her nightstand before returning to the first aid kid. He retrieved the antiseptic and began the tedious work of cleaning all her wounds.

Natsu sighed, it was a good thing the girl was unconscious; otherwise everything would have been quite painful for her.

After he finished disinfecting the wounds, he retrieved a needle from the first aid kit. Although he was sure it was probably safe to use, he heated it up in his hand to kill off any possible bacteria. After a few minutes it cooled enough for him to thread a suture through it.

Natsu took a deep breath, suddenly uneasy. It had been one thing to stitch his own battered body up from time to time but he had never done it to anyone else. He wiped his brow and went to work. As he started to stitch her up, she reacted for the first time from any of his actions. Even while out of it she whimpered and twitched. Natsu prayed to whoever was listening that she wouldn't wake up. This whole procedure was painful and he wasn't sure she could take the pain while awake.

Eventually he finished everything. His stitches weren't the prettiest but they would certainly do the trick. Natsu wiped the sweat off of his brow once more and sighed. He glanced down at his phone and noted the time.

' _3:23AM…'_

It was very late and he was tired. There was only thing left for him to do before he could retreat to the couch and sleep off the night. He reached into the kit and unrolled a bandage. He began working his way around her body, wrapping the bandages around her particular bad wounds. With one last snip, he trimmed the excess of the bandage with a pair of scissors and tied it off. He was finally done.

Natsy was mentally and physically drained. He exited the bedroom, turning the lights off while he walked out and then closed the door behind him. He was more than ready to go to sleep. He wouldn't leave her alone, at least not tonight. The gang might launch some sort of retaliation against her, especially after what he did to their hideout.

The day definitely hadn't gone as planned. It angered him to think about what would have happened to her had he not happened to be around. Lucy needed a serious wake-up call. She had been very naïve to not even consider the possibility of being abducted. She was, after all, very rich and somewhat famous. Most people of her stature lived in a secure home with security and bodyguards. Lucy apparently thought an apartment in the middle of town was safe enough for her.

Natsu kicked off his shoes before collapsing onto her couch. He buried his face into a throw pillow. He wasn't sure how he would face Lucy tomorrow. He wouldn't be able to explain off how he eliminated the gang all on his own. Natsu closed his eyes, deciding to deal with the next day's problems in the morning. One thing was certain though; Lucy couldn't stay here by herself.

* * *

" _Well, I just can't believe our luck. You really are stupid." Bruce held her chin in his fingers, forcing her to look at him._

 _After abducting her, these cowards had taken her to some remote location. She had been blindfolded on the drive so she wasn't sure where exactly she was. Now she sat in a chair, in some random room, in an unknown building. Her hands were tied behind her back._

" _Rich little bitch doesn't know how to take care of herself. You thought you were all grown up, huh? That you could take care of yourself? Didn't you even think to hire some bodyguards? When we spotted you moving with your little pink-haired friend earlier, we thought our luck was too good to be true. A Heartfilia… fell right into our laps. If we play our cards right, I'm sure we'll all end up very rich. An island retirement sounds nice right now."_

 _Lucy glared up at him, ripping her chin from his grip. "The only place you'll end up is in jail. My dad will find you and make you pay."_

 _Bruce laughed, pulling his hand back and striking her hard across the face. The force was enough to tip the chair over. He kneeled down and retrieved a pocketknife from his pants. "I doubt that girlie. There isn't a person alive that could track you down here." He twirled the knife in his hands. "Come now, we have to prepare you for your big video shoot later. We have to set the scene and create a sense of urgency for your daddy. A model like you should understand how important prep work is." He slashed her across the arm and Lucy cried out in pain. Blood began to pour from the fresh wound._

 _Was she really stupid? Had she made some terrible mistake? All she wanted to do was escape her rich lifestyle from her father. Maybe she had been a bit naïve but she never imagined something like this could have happened. Especially on her first day away from home._

 _Bruce reached down and grabbed her by her hair, hoisting the chair upright. He turned around and grabbed a bottle of something, shaking out a single pill. He then grabbed a cup of water and approached her._

" _I'm not a completely terrible guy though. I will grant you a break from your suffering."_

 _She felt her stomach twist in her stomach. What the hell was he planning on doing?_

" _Open your mouth, wench."_

 _Lucy stubbornly refused, clenching her jaw closed tight and turning away from him._

 _He reached down and pinched her nose. Eventually her mouth flew open and she began gasping for breath. He took the opportunity to press the pill down her throat and dump the water in after._

" _Good girl." He mockingly praised, dropping the cup to their feet. "Unfortunately this does take a bit to kick in so I guess we'll just have to have some fun for awhile."_

" _What the hell did you give me?!" Lucy shouted, struggling against her binds._

 _Bruce didn't respond, instead he walked back to the table and picked the knife back up. He wasted no further time in his torture. He kicked, punched and slashed her repeatedly. Lucy wasn't sure how much longer she could take. Eventually she could feel herself feeling hazy. Not being able to fight it, she slipped into unconsciousness._

 _Somewhere in the distance she could hear an alarm blaring. The loud noise woke her up but she was still quite groggy. Some time passed before she suddenly felt her hands be unbound. She shakily opened her eyes and was surprised at who she saw._

" _Natsu..?"_

 _She wasn't able to fight the effects of the powerful drug any longer and slipped back into unconsciousness._

* * *

 ** _A/N: Pretty please with a cherry on top leave a review!_ _I only got one last chapter and it made me super sad. Thank you for all the follows and favs! I really appreciate you guys :) I need encouragement to keep the story going..._**


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